A Tribute to Our Veterans

I give thanks to our veterans who served our country this Memorial Day weekend. Protecting our freedoms has never been free, and many of our brave servicemen and women have paid dearly so that we can live free. Mere words can never express the gratitude which we owe them.

Many others - men, women and children - have not served during the Vietnam era, or any of our other wars or conflicts, for that matter. We who have been spared owe a terrific debt of gratitude for those who have.

Special Tribute To:

• My dad, Alfred Olson, who served in World War I in France – “Lafayette, We Remember”
• My wife’s dad, Gerald Ruckle, who served in World War II, in the awful island hopping in the Pacific. He suffered nightmares until the day he died on my birthday in 1971.
• My brother, Jim, who served as a medic during the Vietnam Era, fortunately all stateside
• Our son, Kirk, who served 10 years in the U.S. Navy, as a nuclear electrician
• My high school buddy, David Paavola, who served valiantly in Vietnam and lives to NOT talk about it.
• Our brave young men and women who currently voluntarily serve our country all around the world, preserving our safety and our freedoms. Few will forget the images we saw on 9-11-2001 and the days following, or forget that we still live in an unsafe world, where people are willing to martyr themselves to destroy our way of life.

Thank you!

For the story of my personal journey with regard to serving our country in the Armed Forces, see: A Tribute to Our Veterans